Wheelchairs are a required mode of transport for a large segment of society. Historically wheelchairs were designed to be propelled by the user, based largely upon the application of force applied through the arms of the user to rotate the wheel. A significant advance in wheelchair design was achieved when the first motorized wheelchairs were developed a number of years ago. These advances allowed the users to cover greater distances, or in the case of users not having the ability in their arms required for locomotion, motorized/electric wheelchairs allowed users to use the wheelchairs in the first place. Even though many advances have been achieved in wheelchair design, many other needs remain unmet. The present invention seeks to solve some of these needs.
The standard electric wheelchair is designed to operate on hard, smooth and relatively unvarying surfaces. When surfaces are encountered that do not adhere to these parameters the typical wheelchair will not perform effectively or safely. Thus, users of wheelchairs often find themselves restricted to manmade environments or other very limited environments. It is our object to provide a system whereby a standard wheelchair can be adapted via an easily fitted attachment to function safely and effectively in a wide range of terrain. By greatly increasing the options of terrain open to the user of a standard wheelchair we believe we can provide a great deal of mobility and enjoyment to the user of a wheelchair. It will be seen from the following disclosure that this objective is accomplished by the invention.